Ryan Baker Quoted by Variety on Crisis PR War between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni

Partner Ryan Baker, speaking to Variety on December 23, 2024 about the litigation between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni after Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against Baldoni, said, “I think people might see what Baldoni did as at least unfair, if not harmful or possibly illegal in terms of further harassment or retaliation.”

After Lively accused Baldoni, her director and costar in the film “It Ends with Us,” of misconduct on the set, it was revealed that Baldoni had hired a crisis PR team to attack Lively in what she alleges is a smear campaign against her.

The case “puts [the conduct] under a little more scrutiny, because all of these things clearly happened in a dynamic where Lively and Baldoni are going back and forth,” Baker said. The film depicts many adult themes, including various forms of abuse, and the portrayal of these themes can put talent in uncomfortable situations. “It is critical that roles are clearly defined and precautions are taken to protect talent from experiencing the trauma they seek to depict.”